Horsham RSL president Donald Pirouet said the Royal Commission is well over due.

"It's been fought for for the last five years and finally going to be done," Mr Pirouet said.

"It is the first step in the process but certainly the announcement is a good start.

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"It needs to start sooner rather than later.

"The rate of veterans from Defence is four times the average, there is clearly a link."

RSL Victoria will be submitting to the Royal Commission and be involved in the interview process.

"Defence has had a pretty silent voice for a while," Mr Pirouet said.

"Since 2001 to now there has been in excess of 500 veterans either suicide or self harm.

"20 years later, we've suddenly decide to do something about it.

"It's not that it hasn't been identified until now, it's that we've only got some action now for something that was identified 10 years ago."

Mr Pirouet said for the Wimmera, the Royal Commission will highlight lack of mental health facilities in the area.

"The commission will probably focus on the lack of mental health agencies," Mr Pirouet said.

"Our closest mental health for Defence here is in Geelong; three hours away.

"We do have veterans in the region who have health issues who have to travel to Geelong to seek assistance.

"The further outcome of the commission will look into the underlying issues which is causing the veterans to suicide. Its the first answer they need to establish."

The process could "very well incite some issues which could be underlying," in veterans, Mr Pirouet said.

"This process could heighten what has laid dormant in people's minds for quite some time," he said.

The Wimmera have veterans from World War II, across Vietnam, East Timor up to recent events in Afghanistan.

"There are a lot of veterans we don't know about, which is the unknown," Mr Pirouet said.

"The commission is the first step but it will be a long process.

Mr Pirouet said we need to think positive about outcomes of the commission.

"It will highlight certain aspects of Defence life which even I wasn't aware of even with 30 years across the board," he said.

"Hopefully the commission will get down to the bare bones of what the problem is.

"Being on the front foot and being proactive and identifying issues before they become major is the key.

"There will most likely be a change of training and post service de-briefs."

Mr Pirouet said the commission needs to be looked at as a building block for better practices.

"Rome wasn't built in a day," he said.

"We can only improve on what we have."

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Mr Pirouet said he hopes another key aspect is men becoming more open about their health.

"We only go to the doctor if we're sick," he said.

"Blokes will have a tendency to hold things in and bottle things up until it gets to that snap point.

"But I think we're getting better with that."

Mr Pirouet said he wants the commission to look at the root cause of veteran suicide.

"It's a sheltered workshop situation being in Defence," he said.

"It's how you transition from being in a very tight knit Defence world and then going into the civil world and not having that structure in life which Defence has.

"The world is made up of different people and they react different to different situations and how they deal with it is an individual response."

Mental health support:

The Defence all-hours Support Line is a confidential telephone and online service for ADF members and their families 1800 628 036.

Open Arms provides 24-hour free and confidential counselling and support for current and former ADF members and their families 1800 011 046, or through SafeZone on 1800 142 072.

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